Currently, studies for bio-diesel are actively made owing to an increase in interests for environmental-friendly energy businesses. Thereby, productivity of the bio-diesel may increase every year.
Along with an increase in the yield of the bio-diesel, supply quantities of byproducts generated due to production of the bio-diesel may be overly increased. As a representative example of the by-products of the bio-diesel, glycerol may be given.
The glycerol is possible to be transformed into various glycerol derivatives, for example, glycerol carbonate, epichlorohydrin, glycerol ether, 1,3-propane, and the like.
In particular, the glycerol carbonate is limpid and harmless at room temperature, and may be utilized as various applications. For example, the glycerol carbonate may be used as a main ingredient of an electrolyte of a secondary battery, a surfactant, various coating agents, medical goods, cosmetics, a composition for removing paint, and the like.
As a method for synthesizing the glycerol carbonate from glycerol, Equations 1 to 3 as below are provided, which are represented as

Here, Equation 1 is a reaction method (Huntsman synthesis method) in which ethylene carbonate (EC) or propylene carbonate (PC) is used as a reactant material, Equation 2 is a reaction in which urea is used as a reactant material, and Equation 3 is a two-stage reaction using carbon dioxide.
As described above, active utilizations of the byproducts of bio-diesel are highly required along with the expansion of the bio-diesel business. In particular, there is an urgent need for developing various derivative synthesis methods in which glycerol, having an advantage of being changeable into useful derivatives, is used as a reactant material. In particular, there is an urgent need for developing a more effective and stable synthesis method for synthesis of glycerol carbonate being excellent in its utilization.